Fusion Sound of Brazil Pt 2: The ’70s

Kirk takes your musical heroes and puts them to the acid test. Part two of his special on the fusion sounds of Brazil explores the ’70s.

For the second part of his special on Brazilian fusion vibes, selector extraordinaire Kirk Degiorgio delved deep into his ’70s crates, cherry-picking yet another two hours of hefty fine tunes. Not an easy task at all, given that the Brazilian music scene has had a major say in the process of merging bebop, funk and rock into one exciting new genre. Akin to what Brazilian musicians like Tom Zé or Os Mutantes did to bossa nova and psychedelia, the fusion sound of Brazil got its cues from American funk and jazz rock, while new masters like Eumir Deodato, Hermeto Pascoal, the notorious Marcos Valle, and samba rejuvenator Sergio Mendes mixed it with unmistakable traces of samba, bossa and the emerging Tropicalia sounds. Building on this, the ’70s marked the heydays of influential singers like Gal Costa, Elis Regina, master composer Arthur Verocai, psych funksters Azymuth, and bossa jazz pioneer Antonio Carlos Jobim, so brace yourself for the full spectrum of Brazilian sounds, from hazy psychedelia to the funky and upbeat.